Former hotel owner sues Marriott, claims labor conspiracy

A former owner of a Marriott hotel has sued its parent company, Marriott International Inc., claiming the company conspired with labor organizations to control which of the hotels unionized.

New York-based Madison 92nd Street Associates said in its suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, that as a result of the conspiracy, the employees of its hotel unionized. That led to financial difficulties for the hotel, which was located on 92nd Street in Manhattan. It ultimately filed bankruptcy and, after five years in business, closed in 2011. The suit seeks at least $400 million in damages.

Madison claims that it decided to franchise with Marriott because the company offered reassurances that it was nonunion. But Madison says at the time of those early talks, Marriott was already engaged in the conspiracy to help unions organize at some of its hotels.

"Marriott and Courtyard have fraudulently enriched themselves at the expense of hotel owners and workers throughout New York City for over a decade now," Nicholas Gravante Jr., a lawyer at Boies, Schiller & Flexner, told Thomson Reuters. Gravante represents Madison in this litigation.